Senate Majority Leader John Morse, facing an ethics investigation over leadership per diem he charged in 2009, billed for fewer days in 2010 when he faced a tough re-election bid.

Still, the Colorado Springs Democrat charged for 137 off-session days last year, only three days less then Senate President Brandon Shaffer.

Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, who took over that post in May, was third with 119 days. Kopp, by the way, was the only leader to charge taxpayers for working on Election Day.

“I work very hard, always have,” Morse said today. “Just because I was running for re-election didn’t mean I didn’t have leadership duties.

“The bottom line is did I work every single day that I billed for and the answer is yes.”

All legislators are eligible to collect daily per diem during the 120-day session. Morse charged for all 120 days during the 2010 session as did every other member of the El Paso County delegation and almost every lawmaker who lived outside the metro area.

Certain lawmakers in leadership also can charge $99 a day in the off session when they are performing leadership duties. That per diem is the subject of the complaint.

Morse said Cegielski’s calculations are wrong. He said some of the days she claims he charged leadership per diem were days he actually served on special committees, including criminal justice and tobacco review panels. All lawmakers who served on those committees received a $99-a-day stipend, Morse said.

Morse was first elected in 2006, riding a Democratic tidal wave and his credentials as the former police chief in Fountain to win a state Senate seat in the GOP stronghold of El Paso County. But by 2010 the tide had changed and Morse faced a tough re-election bid. He beat Republican challenger Owen Hill by only 340 votes.

Morse billed for 12 leaderships days in September and 14 days in October, during the heaviest part of campaigning.

Schaffer and Morse are the only two legislative leaders in 2010 who served the entire year. Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry resigned his leadership post in May 2010 and was succeeded by Kopp.

And the election brought new leaders, in part because of term limits and in part because Republicans took control of the House. Some outgoing leaders stopped billing in November, while newly elected ones billed only for November and December

Here’s a look at legislative per diem for 2010:

140 days — Senate President Brandon Schaffer, D-Longmont

137 days — Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs

119 days — Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton

86 days — House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville

49 days — Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver

30 days — Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch

30 days — House Minority Leader Sal Pace, D-Pueblo

29 days — House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument

9 days — House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker

6 days — Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction

This is Morse’s second ethics complaint in two years. Last year, a Colorado Springs student filed a complaint with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission saying Morse violated Amendment by 41 by renting an apartment for less than its value. It was dismissed as “groundless.”[6]

Morse said at the time the complaint was politically motivated.

“Republicans know darn good and well I’ve been one of the most effective legislators from this district, and the only way to remove me from office is to lie, cheat and steal,” he said.

The person who signed his named to the complaint couldn’t answer a single question about it when contacted by The Denver Post, and later didn’t respond to the ethics committee.